The U.S. Air Force recently stripped 17 officers of their authority to control and launch intercontinental-range ballistic missiles (ICBMs) after inspections indentified potential problems that could endanger U.S. national security. Although the incident did not impact security and operational readiness of U.S. ICBM forces, the Air Force is right to …
Last week, 16 House Republicans called for including as much as $250 million for the U.S. East Coast missile defense site. This is a step in the right direction. All the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) interceptors that can shoot down long-range ballistic missiles are currently located on the West Coast; …
Last week, NASA observed the largest solar flare of the year. The coronal mass ejection was one “powerful enough to cause a brief radio blackout.” Indeed, there were some small instances of radio interference last week following the solar flare. While the event made for some spectacular photographs, it also …
Questions over North Korea’s nuclear capabilities have again skyrocketed into the headlines—not because of another threat by Pyongyang but instead by a U.S. intelligence assessment. The existence of a new classified Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report was disclosed during a congressional hearing by Representative Doug Lamborn (R–CO). According to Lamborn, …
New threats from North Korea bring the message of the documentary 33 Minutes to the forefront of the missile defense debate. The Heritage Foundation’s James Carafano was interviewed in a recent National Journal article on the documentary 33 Minutes and on the World Review for his thoughts on the worsening …
North Korea continues to escalate the situation on the Peninsula, most recently by telling international diplomats it will not be able to guarantee their security after April 10. The ongoing crisis demonstrates the benefits of missile defense for the protection of the U.S. homeland and forward-deployed troops, and the assurance …
1. Does North Korea have nuclear weapons? North Korea conducted its third nuclear weapons test in February in defiance of international efforts to halt its nuclear weapons program. Although details about the test remain elusive, it appeared to be North Korea’s largest nuclear weapons test to date. In March, North …
Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) speech in 1983 launched a program to eliminate the threat posed by a nuclear attack and set the groundwork for today’s missile defense system. On March 19, The Heritage Foundation and the George C. Marshall Institute co-hosted an event commemorating the 30th anniversary of …
